[unreadable] The overall objective of the proposed project is to develop a hemoperfusion device for the clinical treatment of sepsis and other conditions related to the Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS). RenalTech International and Dr. John Kellum of the University of Pittsburgh have completed promising in vitro and in vivo laboratory studies in several models of acute sepsis using a new polymer in a packed bead column device for hemoadsorption. These studies indicate that the polymer efficiently removes cytokines from whole blood, causes significant and beneficial modulation of the inflammatory response and improves survival time in a lethal animal model of sepsis. These data strongly suggest that this treatment may be beneficial to patients with sepsis and related SIRS conditions. However, before hemoadsorption can be used in clinical trials with critically ill patients, several important tasks must be achieved. The Phase I objectives of this project will determine optimal system characteristics for removal of several representative molecules from whole blood. The ultimate goal of Phase I will be to establish the optimal specifications for the adsorbent polymer, the device containing the polymer, the physical or chemical conditions and clinical parameters so that pilot human clinical trials in patients with SIRS can be designed. [unreadable] [unreadable]